The year of the goat

No kidding, many now opt to have goats as pets, writes Laura M. Holson

place for owners to share their goat tales. They are spotted on walks, taking dips in the pool and snuggling. Goats of Anarchy, a New Jersey rescue for goats with special needs, is a mecca for soft-hearted goat lovers, with 499,000 followers and a line of books, socks and calendars.

“I know there are stereotypes: They eat cans and smell bad,” said William Kowalik, a representative of the American Goat Society. “That’s not true. They are very much like dogs. They are great pets. The goats know what kind of mood you are in. They can get a person to open up.”

GREAT PETS

Angela Bailey lives a 20-minute drive from St Paul, Minnesota. A friend suggested she get a goat, saying their milk was easy to digest. In May, Bailey’s husband gave her two kids for her birthday.

“They wag their tails when they are happy,” she said. “They like to be scratched and petted, and they love to be around all of us.” Equally appealing, she said,

Leanne Lauricella owns a goat sanctuary in Annandale, Virginia.

“their poop does not stink.”

Bailey’s city friends weren’t as thrilled. “It felt like they were rolling their eyes a little,” she said. Her six children, though, have warmed up to the goats, especially her girls. “There’s a lot of hugging going on,” she said.

Goats have a defined social caste, despite their laid back goofiness. “Everyone has their own spot,” said Kowalik, who has goats and lives in San Antonio. “They learn the order and if you don’t follow it, they will pout.” If a goat sniffs another goat’s food, “they’ll walk off and refuse to eat,” he said. “If a piece of watermelon touches the ground, they won’t eat it. They also get into: ‘That’s not my bowl. I am not going to drink from it.’”

Despite those peccadilloes, goats are, for the most part, tolerant of humans. That was the appeal for Quinn Edwards who works in technology and lives in Draper, Utah. He has four Nigerian dwarf goats that have 35,000 followers on Instagram.

“I had a friend growing up who was into mules and he would say: ‘This one has a good personality,’” Edwards said. “To me, it was just a stupid mule.” Well, that was until he got Kevin. “He’s the best,” he said. “When he came home, the other goats were a bit bigger, and he never left my side.” They took walks. They cuddled. Then the calls started.

“A guitarist in H20, a popular punk band from 1990s, called and wanted to come by and see the goats,” said Edwards, who obliged. “I’m thinking, ‘You guys were my favourite band.’”

Another time a family from Pennsylvania went to his house to visit Kevin and company. And last year, Edwards got a message from a college friend in Los Angeles who wanted to visit his goats after seeing photos on Facebook. She was getting a divorce, Edwards said. He was single. They texted for months. She came to see the goats, then moved back to Utah. In April, they got married.

“Goats bring people together,” he said.